In the operation of a modern bakery, conveyor systems are utilized to transport baking pans from dough receiving locations, through proofing locations, through ovens and finally to product discharge locations. Quite often pans being carried in one orientation through a processing station in one part of the bakery operation will need to be rotated 90.degree. for movement through the next processing station. At the same time multiple pan flows may be combined to a single flow on a receiving conveyor. It will be understood that the process of reorienting and combining the pans in the conveyor system must be carried out in a smooth and orderly manner and with appropriate spacing between pans in accordance with the operating characteristics of the bakery.
Prior to the present invention, various systems for inserting baking pans into conveyor systems have been used. In general, prior pan insertion systems have been characterized by the use of complex mechanical and/or photoelectric systems for establishing pan location, coupled with gating and/or braking systems for establishing gaps to facilitate pan insertion. Such complexities have made the prior systems expensive to install and have necessitated frequent maintenance in order to ensure their continued operation.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other difficulties associated with the prior art by providing a dual-T transfer conveyor which is uncomplicated in design and manufacture and therefore relatively inexpensive to install and relatively trouble free in operation when compared with prior systems. In accordance with the broader aspects of the invention, one or more input conveyors are utilized to cyclically insert articles onto a continuously operating cross conveyor. Permanent magnets are utilized to enhance the driving engagement between each input conveyor and the articles to be inserted, and each input conveyor is operated through a clutch/brake to ensure precise control over article movement. The conveying plane of the input conveyors is situated above the conveying plane of the cross conveyor, and the conveying surface of the cross conveyor is formed from a low friction plastic to assure insertion of the articles without skewing. When two input conveyors are utilized, the operating cycle of the upstream input conveyor is regulated to provide gaps between articles inserted therefrom. This in turn allows the downstream conveyor to insert articles between articles previously inserted from the upstream input conveyor.